CHILDS, Md. — The Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales, who minister at Mount Aviat Academy in Childs, Md., in the Diocese of Wilmington, celebrated the 150th anniversary of the founding of their congregation on Oct. 11.
On that date in 1871, their foundress, St. Leonie Aviat, professed the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience as the first member of the congregation.
Founded in Troyes, France, the sisters opened their first convent in the United States in Childs in 1951. Since then, they have ministered at Mount Aviat Academy and several schools in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Currently, in addition to Mount Aviat, the sisters are present at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Towson, Md.
Worldwide, more than 350 sisters serve in Europe, Africa and South America as well as North America.